I was sitting in the back corner of the auditorium in a warehouse like building. The church I had been eager to attend was crowded with rows of people spilling out into the lobby– all worshiping and praising the Lord.

The sound of unified voices lifting up the Name of Jesus covered my body in chills. I knew the Spirit was present and I could hardly conceal my excitement for the coming word of teaching from the pastor.

Shortly into his teaching he looks directly at us and asks, “How far will you go before you bury your faith?”

I could not stop reflecting on this question for the rest of the sermon. How far will I go before I decide I no longer believe in the promises of God to prevail? Or His mercy to conquer evil? Or His will to be accomplished?

What would it take to convince me to stop believing in the powerful sovereignty of God?

Death?
Disease?
Bankruptcy?
Divorce?
Betrayal?

For me, I cannot imagine reaching a point of burying my faith I hold so firmly in Jesus. I know without a doubt my eternity is secure in Heaven with Him! However, how often are we tempted to bury our faith when certain circumstances are not playing out as we have been praying? I have been there plenty times!

Here recently, especially with this past election, I’ve watch Christian after Christian bury their faith prematurely because their hope was in a certain result, date, solution, or person. When their idea of resurrection was trampled by circumstances beyond their control, they are quick to blame God and give up believing. Their faith was never in the God of Promise, rather in their own understanding.

My hope today is to encourage you to reflect on your own relationship with Jesus. Have you buried your faith lately? If so, remember what happened and at what point you decided to bury it. Are you willing to go back, uncover the faith you buried, and continue to move forward? It may be difficult to let go of the hurt you’ve felt because you feel God could have changed the circumstances and didn’t, but I promise you, it’ll hurt worse being left behind at your burial site while the Lord advances His Kingdom here on earth without you.

Your purpose is too powerful to be digging holes and preparing a funeral service for your faith. You were created to experience the fullness of Jesus in this life through His mercy, grace, and miracles. Sometimes that means praying for His purposes to prevail, no matter the outcome, and trusting Him to accomplish His will of righteousness no matter what that will look like.

So, if you’ve been lingering at your faith’s tombstone, I encourage you to confess your sins before God, uncover your faith, and take the first step forward into His abundance. He desires nothing more than for you, His beloved, to walk with Him into glory.

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

Be blessed, friends!